NBC: 'Nostalgic' Obama in Iowa, Where His 'Improbable and Historic Journey' Began

On Tuesday's NBC Today, correspondent Kristen Welker described an Obama campaign "filled with anticipation and nostalgia" and the President giving his final stump speech in Iowa "With an eye on his future" and having "reached back to the past." Welker continued to fawn: "...the state which gave Mr. Obama his first 2008 victory, launching his improbable and historic journey. An emotional night, even for a president known for keeping his cool." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Later in the report, Welker touted: "And while [Obama's] top surrogates stormed the battleground states, some of the biggest names in entertainment also lent their voices, from Jay-Z to Bruce Springsteen..."

On ABC, correspondent Terry Moran gushed over the "magic" of Obama in 2008 and "what seemed like the hinge of history."

Here is a full transcript of the November 6 report:

7:05AM ET

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Now let's go to NBC's Kristen Welker, she's at President Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago. Kristen, good morning to you.

KRISTEN WELKER: Good morning to you, Savannah. Well, President Obama arrived here in his hometown of Chicago overnight. He's staying in his own home. Later today he will watch returns in a hotel with family and friends and his closest advisors, many who say this is a moment filled with anticipation and nostalgia. With an eye on his future, President Obama reached back to the past.

BARACK OBAMA: I've come back to Iowa one more time to ask for your vote.

WELKER: The First Lady by his side, the President held his final campaign event in Iowa, the state which gave Mr. Obama his first 2008 victory, launching his improbable and historic journey. An emotional night, even for a president known for keeping his cool.

OBAMA: When the cynics said we couldn't, you said, yes, we can.

WELKER: It capped a frenetic final day of campaigning, with Mr. Obama traveling more than a thousand miles to defend the Midwest states he's expected to need for re-election, Iowa, Wisconsin, and critical Ohio.

OBAMA: When you're making this choice, Ohio, you have to remember that this isn't just about policy, it's also about trust.

WELKER: With the election so tight, the President has made every second count in this final push, stopping by a campaign office in Columbus, making last-minute phone calls urging his supporters to turn out.

OBAMA: We'll bring it home tomorrow. Let's keep it going.

WELKER: And even appearing on Monday Night Football.

OBAMA: In politics, it's not winning elections, it's making sure that you're delivering for the folks who sent you.

WELKER: And while his top surrogates stormed the battleground states, some of the biggest names in entertainment also lent their voices, from Jay-Z...

JAY-Z [RAPPING]: If we go for four more years.

WELKER: ...to Bruce Springsteen, who admitted he was rattled by that dismal first debate.

SPRINGSTEEN: Actually the first debate really freaked me out.

WELKER: And now after four years in office and months of intense campaigning:

OBAMA: It's out of my hands now. It's in yours.

WELKER: And you are looking at a live shot now of Greenville, Delaware, where Vice President Biden is expected to vote any minute now. This is the band room of Dupont High School. Now, Mr. Obama became the first president to vote early. He did that several days ago. Vice President Biden will eventually join President Obama later today to watch those election returns. Savannah, the President has an election day tradition, which is to play a game of basketball with his closest friends and advisers, and I'm told he's hoping to fit that tradition in today. Savannah.

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